Amazing Amazon experience

Day

1

ARRIVAL IN PUERTO MALDONADO- PERUVIAN AMAZON 'TAMBOPATA NATURE RESERVE'

Welcome in Puerto Maldonado. You may visit the Butterfly House near the airport and then reach the boarding wharf in only 15 minutes. Begin to experience the enchantment of the rainforest, as you take the 45-minute boat ride along the Madre de Dios River, to arrive at Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica lodge. After a short briefing, settle into your beautiful cabaña and enjoy your lunch in the dining room. Take a nap, followed by a refreshing tea time and get ready for the afternoon excursion.

After gathering with your Inkaterra Explorer Guide, you can choose from the various excursions available at Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica. On your first day, we recommend a guided walk along the hiking trails system into the Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica natural area, where you will discover the Amazon Basin. This hike offers an excellent introduction to the jungle environment, winding past impressive trees such as the staggeringly tall kapok and the strangely beautiful strangler fig, and offering excellent opportunities for bird watching and observing exotic insects.

On the first night we also recommend our Twilight River excursion — a guided afternoon boat ride on the Madre de Dios River. Witness the transformation from a diurnal to a nocturnal world: animals and birds of the daytime give way to species specially adapted to the night. As you enjoy their paradise, you will learn about their habits, while you search for nightjars, owls, capybaras and up to three different caiman species.

Enjoy dinner in the main dining room from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. After dinner, you may retire early to your own cabaña, or share your experience in the rainforest with other guests and interpreters, as you listen to the intriguing sounds of the jungle at night.

Day

2

tambopata nature reserve

Wake up late or rise early — the choice is yours. Breakfast begins at 5:30 a.m. (until 9:30 a.m.), for those who want to avoid the heat and enjoy nature at its fullest. This morning you will do the Lake Sandoval excursion in the Tambopata National Reserve. Get in a wooden canoe and navigate across the beautiful, mirror-like oxbow lake that is home to the endangered giant river otter, as well as red howler monkeys, red-bellied macaws, anacondas, side-neck turtles and black caimans. Return to the Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica for lunch.

After lunch, you visit the remarkable Inkaterra Canopy Walkway. Ascending the first tower, 29 meters above the forest ground, you begin your encounter with the treetop realm. For more than a quarter of a mile, you will literally walk through the rainforest canopy on a suspension bridge network linking eight observation platforms. During this hour-and-a-half expedition, be on the lookout for colourful toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, monkeys, and sloths. If you wish you could extend your excursion and enjoy the sunset from one of the towers. Return to the lodge in the afternoon for a nice dinner.

Once at the lodge, enjoy the daily nature presentation in the Eco Center.

Day

3

tambopata nature reserve

Enjoy a trip to Gamitana Creek, located 25 minutes by boat from the Inkaterra lodge. For one and a half hours, explore the rainforest along the banks of a winding, dark-water creek that is home to many piranha, caiman, turtles and birds, until the Sanipanga landing point. Navigate your way back downstream, observing the abundant flora and fauna along the way. You will return to Gamitana Farm to do a short guided tour to see how local farmers grow fruits and vegetables. Return to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch, walk along the lodge trails to the Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica Rainforest Garden, just around the cabañas. This interesting native garden was created by the locals more than ten years ago showcasing native plants, trees and orchids. An in-depth explanation familiarizes you with the traditional use and highly interesting benefits of the plants and trees used for construction, including those that were used for building the lodge, and as well as for native clothing accessories.

Then the Rainforest by Night excursion starts, a hike through the Inkaterra Ecological Reserve at night for an approximately 2-hour excursion. Biological activity differs greatly between night and day in the Amazonian ecosystem. Venture into the forest and experience the mystery of the animal activity that awakens in the rainforest after dark, enhancing animal resources to create new adaptation mechanisms. Listen to nocturnal forest sounds and spot species that only emerge at night. Return to the lodge for a pleasant dinner.

Day

4

Tambopata nature reserve

Enjoy the trip to Hacienda Concepción, built in an old cocoa and rubber plantation on the grounds of a place once known as “Fundo Concepción”, a medical centre of the Catholic mission in the 50´s. Until 1976, this property also served as a centre of ecological research and training for the local community; within 819 hectare of natural forest naturally nestled in an oxbow lake. Hacienda Concepción has diverse ecosystems, tropical plants and wild animals. During this excursion, you will also visit the remains of a ship called Fitzcarrald and learn about its history.

Return to Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica for lunch. After lunch, enjoy a visit to the Wetlands, where you will have the opportunity to visit an interesting ecosystem in the 200-meter boardwalk over the Aguajales rainforest swamps. You will see the transition of the forest ecosystem from dry to marshlands, and observe the various species of amphibians, reptiles, snakes, birds and mammals. Get to know the lush flora and trees, how they adapt to the wetland ecosystem, their benefits and uses. Return to the lodge for a nice dinner.

Day

5

puerto maldonado - LIMA

Enjoy a full breakfast before departure. A 45-minute return trip by boat on the Madre de Dios River takes you to Puerto Maldonado, where you may visit the Butterfly House. Peru possesses the greatest variety of butterflies in the world, with 3,700 known species. Many of these can be seen at the Butterfly House; a showcase for the variety, beauty and adaptability of these fascinating insects.